Sips: Hot cocktails really hit the spot

With the arctic blasts we’ve been enduring this winter, I started wondering: Why aren’t hot drinks more common on Rhode Island cocktail menus?

Jenna Pelletier Journal Staff Writer jennampelletier

With the arctic blasts we’ve been enduring this winter, I started wondering: Why aren’t hot drinks more common on Rhode Island cocktail menus?

Turns out, it could be a matter of logistics. “They can be a pain to make,” said Scott Kirmil, a longtime bartender and co-owner of Diego’s in Newport. Bars are always well stocked with ice, but few have heat sources such as burners or Crock-Pots.

Still, few things warm the belly like the one-two punch of steaming hot alcohol, and some spots have figured out how to serve it. Here are three steamy sips I’ve been loving lately.

Bourbon Latte

New Harvest Coffee & Spirits

New Harvest Coffee Rosters’ new bar in the Arcade Providence specializes in two things: coffee and whiskey. Put them together, and you have a surprisingly delicious drink.

To make the Bourbon Latte, barista-bartenders pull a shot of espresso, then add aerated milk and a generous pour of Evan Williams Kentucky-distilled bourbon. A splash of cinnamon syrup ties it all together.

Look to this caffeine-spirit combo to jump-start your night — because who really likes the taste of vodka-Red Bull, anyway?

I’ve never had anything quite like bar manager Gillian White’s Hot Buttered Beer, and that’s fitting given that it was inspired by the fantastical drink “butterbeer” from “Harry Potter.”

A play on hot buttered rum, the beer-based concoction balances an intensely sweet butterscotch base with bitterness from Widmer Brothers Winter Seasonal Ale. A touch of walnut liqueur, all spice dram and fresh nutmeg amp up the drink’s warm notes. White even brings in some cocktail geekery, adding xanthan gum and gum arabic to keep the mixture from separating.

Making it to Bowen’s Wharf in Newport on a frigid night is a feat that should be rewarded. At Diego’s the prize is Kirmil’s take on the hot toddy.

He begins the process by steeping whole vanilla beans in Four Roses Bourbon for several days. Kirmil then blends the infused spirit with hot apple cider, apple liquor, lemon juice and honey simple syrup. The glass is garnished with a thick lemon wedge and whole cinnamon stick.

This drink is ideal if you’re suffering from a stuffy nose, or if what ails you is simply a case of the winter blues.